Everyman's guide to the orchestra - episode no. 1: the violin

In one of my early On Music posts, we explored the string section of the orchestra by listening to an excerpt from Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique. Today, I thought we'd start to take a more in-depth look at a few of the important instruments of the orchestra, starting with the string section and the violin.

Rather than put up a dozen different soundbites to show off the many sounds of the violin, I enlisted my friend Sam, a freelance violinist and teacher here in Los Angeles, to do the dirty work for me. So sit back and enjoy the first On Music vlog posting. [note: this is a 2-part episode. In part 1, Sam shows off the violin. In part 2, Sam plays the Fugue movement of Bach's Violin Sonata No. 1 in G Minor. If you only want to watch part 2, click the forward arrow at the bottom of the player.]